There have certainly been many periods in history when virtue was more rare than under the Caesars; but there has probably never been a period when vice was more extravagant or uncontrolled. William Edward Hartpole Lecky More Quotes by William Edward Hartpole Lecky More Quotes From William Edward Hartpole Lecky Whenever the clergy were at the elbow of the civil arm, no matter whether they were Catholic or Protestant, persecution was the result. William Edward Hartpole Lecky atheismelbowscatholic Nothing, indeed, could be more unlike the tone of the [Patristic] Fathers, than the cold, passionless, and prudential theology of the eighteenth century; a theology which regarded Christianity as an admirable auxiliary to the police force, and a principle of decorum and of cohesion in society, but which carefully banished from it all enthusiasm, veiled or attenuated all its mysteries, and virtually reduced it to an authoritative system of moral philosophy. William Edward Hartpole Lecky policephilosophyfather Making every allowance for the errors of the most extreme fallibility, the history of Catholicism would on this hypothesis represent an amount of imposture probably unequaled in the annals of the human race. William Edward Hartpole Lecky atheismerrorsrace Terror is everywhere the beginning of religion. William Edward Hartpole Lecky positive-atheismterroratheism On the Continent, every attempt to substitute a lighter punishment for death was fiercely denounced as a direct violation of the Divine law. Indeed, some persons went so far as to question the lawfulness of strangling the witch before she was burnt. Her crime, they said, was treason against the Almighty, and therefore to punish it by any but the most agonizing deaths was an act of disrespect to Him. Besides, the penalty in the Levitical code was stoning, and stoning had been pronounced by the Jewish theologians to be a still more painful death than the stake. William Edward Hartpole Lecky painful-deathpunishmentlaw All history shows that, in exact proportion as nations advance in civilisation, the accounts of miracles taking place among them become rarer and rarer, until at last they entirely cease. William Edward Hartpole Lecky atheismlastsmiracle Spain and southern Italy, in which Catholicism has most deeply implanted its roots, are even now, probably beyond all other countries in Europe, those in which inhumanity to animals is most wanton and unrebuked. William Edward Hartpole Lecky animaleuropecountry Pleasures that are in themselves innocent lose their power of pleasing if they become the sole or main object of pursuit. William Edward Hartpole Lecky innocentpursuitpleasure There are some poisons which, before they kill men, allay pain and diffuse a soothing sensation through the frame. We may recognize the hour of enjoyment they procure, but we must not separate it from the price at which it was purchased. William Edward Hartpole Lecky painmenreligion The animal world being altogether external to the scheme of redemption, was regarded as beyond the range of duty, and the belief that we have any kind of obligation to its members has never been inculcated - has never, I believe, been even admitted - by Catholic theologians. William Edward Hartpole Lecky catholicanimalbelieve Physical science has taught us to associate Deity with the normal rather than with the abnormal. William Edward Hartpole Lecky abnormaltaught-usdeities Whence has come thy lasting power. William Edward Hartpole Lecky lasting When it began, Christianity was regarded as a system entirely beyond the range and scope of human reason; it was impious to question; it was impious to examine; it was impious to discriminate. On the other hand, it was visibly instinct with the supernatural. Miracles of every order and degree of magnitude were flashing forth incessantly from all its parts. William Edward Hartpole Lecky miracleorderhands The doctrine of a material hell in its effect was to chill and deaden the sympathies, predispose men to inflict suffering, and to retard the march of civilization. William Edward Hartpole Lecky sufferingmencivilization I venture to maintain that there are multitudes to whom the necessity of discharging the duties of a butcher would be so inexpressibly painful and revolting, that if they could obtain a flesh diet on no other condition, they would relinquish it forever. William Edward Hartpole Lecky vegetarian-dietvegetarianismforever There is no wild beast so ferocious as Christians who differ concerning their faith. William Edward Hartpole Lecky wild-beastsbeastchristian All over Europe the organs that represent dogmatic interests are in permanent opposition to the progressive tendencies around them, and are rapidly sinking into contempt. In every country in which a strong political life is manifested, the secularisation of politics is the consequence. Each stage of that movement has been initiated and effected by those who are most indifferent to dogmatic theology, and each has been opposed by those who are most occupied with theology. William Edward Hartpole Lecky strongeuropecountry [Middleton] contended that the religious leaders of the fourth century had admitted, eulogised, and habitually acted upon principles that were diametrically opposed, not simply to the aspirations of a transcendent sanctity, but to the dictates of the most common honesty. He showed that they had applauded falsehood, that they had practised the most wholesale forgery, that they had habitually and grossly falsified history, that they had adopted to the fullest extent the system of pious frauds, and that they continually employed them to stimulate the devotion of the people. William Edward Hartpole Lecky honestyreligiouspeople Faith always presented to the mind the idea of an abnormal intellectual condition, of the subversion or suspension of the critical faculties. It sometimes comprised more than this, but it always included this. It was the opposite of doubt and of the spirit of doubt. What irreverent men called credulity, reverent men called faith; and although one word was more respectful than the other, yet the two words were with most men strictly synonymous. William Edward Hartpole Lecky oppositesmenideas Almost all Europe, for many centuries, was inundated with blood, which was shed at the direct instigation or with the full approval of the ecclesiastical authorities. William Edward Hartpole Lecky atheismeuropeblood
